Toronto’s police chief has decided to put the brakes on the service’s new dark grey police cruisers following mixed feedback from the public.

In a news release issued Thursday, Chief Mark Saunders said the service will “immediately” pull back on a plan to phase out the classic white and blue vehicles for dark grey ones.

“As I meet with the people of the city at many events, including numerous town halls, among the subjects that are raised, the new look of our police cars has come up often,” he said in the statement. “There are people who like them. There are people who don’t like them.”

“We will not be ordering any new grey police cars. We will set up opportunities for consultation, before we go any further,” he continued.

“The concern that has been expressed has convinced me that further work is necessary.”

On Wednesday, city council voted in favour of requesting that the Toronto Police Services Board keep the cruisers’ classic white and blue colour design until it can be determined why the change was made and whether it is necessary. Ward 37 Coun. Michael Thompson, who brought on the motion, criticized Saunders for not properly consulting the TPS board or the public prior to the implementation of the new vehicles.

So far, a total of 100 of the force’s 750 front-line cruisers have been repainted using the new cruiser design.

Saunders unveiled the dark grey coloured Ford Interceptors meant to replace the traditional Ford Crown Victoria Cruisers back in September. The new fleet was slated to be rolled out over the next four years.

Shortly after announcing the new-look, Saunders tweeted that the colour change “ties in with our modernizing of policing.”

Toronto Police spokesperson Mark Pugash said that Saunders received complaints regarding the new-look as well as concerns about visibility.

“There are people who didn’t like them and I have to say that the last two times they were changed over the last 40 years people didn’t like them either. There are people who don’t like new things. There also were people who expressed concerns over their visibility,” he said. “The sum total caused the chief to take the step he did.”

Pugash said dates for consultation on the cars have yet to be finalized.